The apparatus of the instant invention relates to the preparation of food for deep frying.
In many restaurant kitchens a common food preparation process involves the deep frying of pieces of food in very hot fat. Oftentimes prior to frying the food pieces, a flour based breading is applied as a coating thereon which forms a crisp outer layer on the individual pieces of food when they are fried. The outer layer thus formed adds flavor to the food and also tends to help seal in the food's natural flavor and juices during the cooking process. As a result, food cooked in this manner if properly prepared is very flavorful and has found great favor with the consuming public.
The instant invention relates to an apparatus which facilitates the breading process in preparing food for deep frying. Normally when pieces of food are breaded, they are first dipped in a wash consisting of milk and eggs or natural juices from the food. The food pieces are then removed from the wash and placed in a breading pan containing breading which generally consists of a mixture of various flours, cornflour, levening, baking powder and salt, and then vigorously mixed in the breading pan to assure that each piece is well coated with the breading mixture. Thereafter the food pieces are removed from the breading pan and placed in a wire shaker basket where they are again vigorously shaken to remove excess breading intermixed therewith. Finally, the food pieces are transferred from the wire; shaker basket to a fryer basket and emersed in deep fat for cooking.
While the food preparation technique described hereinabove can result in very flavorful and tasty food, unfortunately such a process is very time consuming and in most instances very messy. These drawbacks are of particular concern in the restuarant business where customer service and cleanliness are of prime importance and where the recovery of the excess usable breading can result in considerable savings. The instant invention avoids problems heretofore experienced by providing an apparatus for mechanically shaking the pieces of food after they have been dipped in the breading to remove the excess breading intermixed therewith, while at the same time mechanically shanking the excess breading to sift it and to recover reusable portions thereof.
Some prior known mechanical devices have been used in breading food preparation operations and examples of this kind of apparatus are illustrated in the U.S. patents to Gordon, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,529,277 and 3,855,965 which represent the best prior art that pertains to the subject invention and of which the applicant is aware. However, neither of these patents illustrate an apparatus which can be used to both shake pieces of food to remove excess breading intermixed therewith and to shake the excess breading to sift it and recover reusable portions thereof. As will be described hereinafter, the apparatus of the instant invention represents a substantial improvement over the prior known apparatus and has significant commercial value and utility in both restaurant and institutional food preparation operations.